About Grain Valley Publishing
At home with the stories we tell
Grain Valley Publishing is an independent press based in Wichita, Kansas. We do two things: we create narrative work that stays with readers, listeners, educators, and communities; and through BookLab™, our publishing services division, we help other publishers position their titles for the readers already searching for them. Both sides of the house share the same conviction: a good book deserves to be understood on its own terms before it meets the world.
Our History
Grain Valley Publishing began in 2012, when Grant Overstake published his first novel, Maggie Vaults Over the Moon, as a sole proprietor. The press takes its name from that novel's invented Kansas township, and from the idea that one seed comes back a harvest. It later became Grain Valley Publishing Company, LLC.
Overstake left professional employment to write, and he and his wife, Claire, moved into a bungalow. Claire has served the press from the start as first reader, editor, proofreader and publishing assistant, while teaching science, first in USD 259 and now at The Independent School. Overstake worked as a teaching artist with Arts Partners Wichita and as a substitute teacher at The Independent School while the books took shape.
Fourteen years on, the press has published two novels and a scriptbook edition, and produced a full-cast audio drama with co-author and director May Wuthrich, fifteen actors and a Wichita choir. The Real Education of TJ Crowley won the 2025 Audie Award, Young Adult. It also took a gold medal among the Outstanding Books of the Year at the 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards, the only audiobook so honored. Wichita State University and the Wichita Public Library have taught and read it, and students now perform it at Thespys events.
Our Purpose and Vision
We believe storytelling is one of the most practical ways to connect people across experience, history, and difference. Our own titles are built for deep engagement: novels, scriptbooks, and full-cast audio dramas designed to be read, heard, and discussed. Our services work helps other publishers find the language, positioning, and materials that let their books reach the right rooms. In both cases, the discipline is the same: start with what the book actually says, then build outward.
Our Signature Works
The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline
A coming-of-age story of conscience, courage, and moral awakening set in 1968 Wichita. The full-cast audio drama, featuring 15 acclaimed performers and an immersive soundscape, won the 2025 Audie Award in the Young Adult category and an IPPY Gold Medal, Outstanding Books of the Year, from the Independent Publisher Book Awards — the only audiobook in that group. The Scriptbook prints TJ’s first-person narration between the cast’s lines.
"The narrators' splendid portrayals thoroughly engage listeners, bringing this richly layered coming-of-age story to life." — AudioFile Magazine
A coming-of-age novel that blends athletic determination with emotional depth, set in the rural Kansas pole vault world. Praised by Olympians, coaches, and educators, it continues to connect with readers and schools through its story of grief, grit, and growth. The audiobook, performed by Tavia Gilbert, adds an immersive listening experience.
"Girls who play sports and the coaches and families who support them will thoroughly enjoy this warm, uplifting story." — Christine Brennan, author of On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports, USA TODAY
"A fine YA novel about perseverance in sports and in life." — Kirkus Reviews
Beyond the Page: Audio Innovation
Our work bridges literature and audio storytelling. The Real Education of TJ Crowley's full-cast audio drama features an ensemble of 15 performers and an original gospel music score by the ARISE Ensemble that listeners describe as "movie-like in the mind." Maggie Vaults Over the Moon is performed by Tavia Gilbert, one of the most honored voices in audiobook narration. Through The Real Education Project, a nonprofit initiative fiscally sponsored by NonProfitGO, we bring listening-centered education into schools, libraries, and community settings in Wichita and beyond.
Narrative as Conversation and Learning
Our titles do more than engage readers. The Real Education of TJ Crowley has been adopted for classroom use and community discussions focused on history, justice, and moral complexity. At Horace Mann Dual Language Magnet in Wichita, educator Amanda Harcus built a full classroom unit around the Scriptbook and audio drama, incorporating local history, Cory Booker letters, and guided listening sessions. That experience became the proof case for how our work reaches classrooms. Maggie Vaults Over the Moon has inspired "Don't Quit, Use Grit!" school assemblies and reading programs, and was selected for the Wichita Diocese Catholic Schools Battle of the Books.
BookLab™: Publishing Services
BookLab™ is our publishing services division, built for independent publishers whose titles deserve stronger positioning than their launch copy captured. Working from the book itself, BookLab builds a Publisher Voice Profile, reader avatars, and a Positioning Memo before a single word of copy is written. Nothing moves forward until the publisher confirms: this is my book. The process combines editorial judgment with AI-assisted analysis, always governed by the publisher's voice and mission. BookLab currently serves publishers in the Catholic and faith-adjacent space, with a particular focus on backlist titles and new releases that have institutional market potential.
Heartland Stories with Universal Reach
Grain Valley Publishing is rooted in Kansas, a place where wide horizons, layered histories, and everyday courage shape the way stories are told and heard. Author Grant Overstake's work reflects this sensibility: narratives born of Midwest experience that speak to readers, educators, and listeners from coast to coast. Having worked as a journalist at the Wichita Eagle and the Miami Herald before turning to fiction and audio drama, Grant brings a reporter's discipline to storytelling and a storyteller's care to fact.
"Overstake gets everything right about Kansas." — Diane Wahto, Kansas Poet and Educator
Join the Journey
Whether you are an educator seeking classroom-ready narrative material, a librarian curating collections that spark discussion, a reader looking for stories that stay with you, or a publisher interested in what BookLab™ can do for your titles, we welcome you.